The first time she met him had been quite by accident, at least on her part. She was trying to run the track, (robot/alien/zombie preparation) and failing miserably. The dirt trail around one of the smaller and much more secret safe houses of the Avengers was beautiful and secluded. Which was great since Darcy took many breaks and didn't bother hiding her terrible wheezing. No one was ever around to judge her lack of physical fitness or stamina. But hey, at least she was trying, right?

The people who did security here were pretty top notch but not very sociable. The black suits, secret codes, and "rules" had her exploring anywhere outside the office where she did some low clearance level grunt work for Jane and the other lab rats. Simple work. Coding, spread sheets, and the occasional coffee run. It was just... monotonous.

Jane, who had been called away again on some field research thing with Erik, left her alone with her thoughts and boredom. Which were aplenty.

Not only was Darcy in desperate need of some kind of company, but ever since signing up to the crazy train all those years ago in New Mexico, she had a little problem. She craved adventure. Adrenaline to be exact. The discovery of Thor and the ensuing battles only brought to the surface what she had long since suspected.

Darcy Lewis, poli-sci dropout, semi-hero, pop-culture expertise, and self-proclaimed Mario Kart champion, was a thrill seeker.

So no one should have been surprised that she didn't quite stick to code when she caught a dark haired man with a metal arm sneaking around the base.

She had been resting for some time beneath her favorite tree after having run for 15 minutes (woo! That's a freaking record!), when she heard a rustling in the brush beside her. Curious and not at all afraid (she still doesn't understand why she hadn't been scared of at least a rabid raccoon, but whatever), Darcy turned her head to see the creeping figure of a man she could have sworn she'd seen before. He was not that far from her position under the large oak, and while most of his face was covered by his long dark hair, she just knew she had seen him somewhere.

The man looked wholly concentrated on the small, one story building that could barely be seen through the thick trees that kept it separated from the dirt running track.

Now, Darcy should have pushed her alarm button that the guards made her wear around her wrist. It was disguised as a very stylish bracelet. The kind that didn't look like it belonged on her at all.

But she didn't push it. Instead she did what Darcy always does. She put her mouth first, brain catching up much much later.

"Hey there buddy. You lost?"

He moved so fast she barely had a moment to brace herself. Instinct at least had her fling her hands up in the traditional, I'm not a threat, pose.

A big shinny blade pressed itself a little too close to her sweaty neck than she would have liked, but now that his face was nice and close she could get a better look at it. Rugged but very handsome. And those eyes! Phew, he was lucky he was holding a knife to her neck because if not she'd try her best smolder on him. Cute guys were far and few between. Then again, he was holding her life in his hands. That's not really a plus.

Instead of continuing that bizarre line of thought, she simply rolled her eyes, the sweet rush of adrenaline making her bold and light headed.

"Seriously? Put the poker away and we can use our big boy words."

The mystery man sure didn't look like he was in the mood to listen to her but after several heavy breaths, he slowly lowered the weapon. Darcy could feel the blood rushing through her veins and it felt like time had slowed down.

"Cool." She smiled gently, making sure she kept eye contact. The weird feeling of having seen him before was making her brave. She wanted to remember why. Or to know his story! Maybe it had a little to do with the cabin fever she was suffering, but whatever the cause, she was floating high on a nice little rush. "I'm Darcy Lewis. I work over at the building you were scoping out."

The intensity of his gaze right then made her knees start to feel like rubber, but she merely tilted her head to try and get a better look at him. He remained silent but his eyes were asking so many questions and as strange as this interaction was, it was even stranger that she wanted it to continue.

"It's just me and some suits so if you were looking for one of the Hero's, you are out of luck."

She didn't miss the flicker of disappointment that crossed his blue eyes before disappearing back into the intense stare. He stood quickly and disappeared back towards the direction in which he came, but she stood quickly (stumbling but gracefully, you know) and jogged after him.

"Wait!" She called, trying to keep her voice low so not to alert anyone. "Wait, guy! I think I know you."

Darcy was sad to say that this wasn't the first time she had jogged blindly after some guy. This time was the first, however, that the guy had actually stopped.

She ran right into the very solid back of the dangerous stranger. And good god, was she dizzy with excitement. After she backed away and found some solid ground, he turned to her slowly. His face was a mask of indifference but she could see the storm of confusion behind those baby blues.

"I don't know how," she breathed, the excitement and adrenaline was wearing down, making her begin to actually assess the situation, but she tried to stall the thoughts, grasping for just a little more time with this stranger. "I don't know how, but I know you. Who are you?"

The man in black turned his head and looked back into the dense trees and Darcy got the feeling that he was about to book it so she did the only thing she could think of.

She grabbed his hand. You know, that instinct you get when someone you hardly know is having a rough time and you're not close enough to hug them but you want to show some sort of support so you grasp their hand… Right. Well, normally what you'd be holding would not, in fact, be made of metal.

"Whoa." She whispered, bringing the appendage up to her face where her glasses sat a little lopsided on her nose. The whole hand and arm were made of intricate silver plates, overlapping like the skin of a snake but with unique joints allowing for full anatomical movements. Fully functional cybernetic artificial limb. Hella rad!

He didn't pull away and after a moment she realized what she was doing. Without letting go of the hand, Darcy looked back into his face intending to ask about its specs. But of course her brain, as often happened when it finally decided to get serious, made her ask what she really needed to know.

"Are you a bad guy?" She mumbled, holding her breath. Thankfully he didn't make her wait long because he simply nodded, letting the hair cover his eyes as he carefully removed his hand from her grasp.

But Darcy would have long since alerted the guards had she felt even an ounce of malicious intent from him. No, he might think he's a bad guy, and the whole knife thing was a bit much, she just knew he wasn't a villain. She sort of had a knack for telling who the baddies were.

"Nope, I don't think so." She stated as if it were a matter of fact. Her joints were starting to ache as her body came down from the adrenaline high. Her hand kneaded the tense tissue at the top of her neck, feeling a knot start to build there, as it always did when she put herself in stupid situations.

But this guy with the impressive metal arm stood stock still, brows knit in confusion. She chuckled deeply, shaking away the doubt she had in her own thoughts.

And when he turned again to leave, Darcy didn't stop him. She watched as he slowly vanished into the woods, taking with him the last of her buzz. But she wouldn't be Darcy if she didn't have the proverbial last words, so of course she called after him.

"Hope to see you again soon!"

And she did…